Convergence of Cluster Properties Towards Bulk Behavior: How Large is Large?

Abstract

Recent progress in experimental techniques has made it possible to explore properties of clusters containing hundreds or thousands of monomers from two different venues: Preparing ever smaller particles in solution, or growing ever larger particles in the gas phase. Results obtained through these approaches will be used to illustrate the evolution of bulk properties in clusters with increasing size. In many cases, properties approximately scale as the inverse cluster radius and, hence, will have converged to the bulk limit within about 10% when the cluster size exceeds 103 monomers, equivalent to a radius of 1 to 2 nm. However, there are several properties that do not exhibit a simple 1/r dependence.